Yesterday I attended a screening of Zack Snyder's new film "Sucker Punch". I would like to start by saying if you haven't seen the movie I might address points that could be construed in the realm of spoiler territory.
Once I got past the glowing eye treats the film had to offer I started analyzing the story a bit more. Upon pondering I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the film and "The Wizard of Oz". While I say similarities, I don't necessarily mean tone or the aesthetics, but more in the realm of story structure.
"Sucker Punch" follows the story of our protagonist Baby Doll, a girl whose recently been committed to an asylum by her abusive stepfather. In an attempt to cope with this she falls into a fantastical dreamworld which involves her and 4 other girls: Sweet Pea, Rocket, Blondie, and Amber trapped in a brothel unable to escape. When a mysterious stranger prophesies the girls need to collect five items from an even more fantastical world they will be able to go home.
The overall theme of being trapped in a fantastical world and yearning to go home lends itself to both films. Dorothy and Baby Doll feel trapped in this unfamiliar setting and want to go to their norm. Both characters escape to a fantastical worlds in order to deal the traumatic events that have happened in the real world. They perceive people in their own worlds as characters playing an extreme of themselves to serve the fantastical world.
The structure of the film is the same as the fantastical worlds they encounter include various worlds all very distinct from each other. In Wizard of Oz Dorothy goes from small town of Munchkinland, to the dark brooding forest, to the glowing Emerald City. Each of these settings are very distinct from each other. In "Sucker Punch" Baby Doll is transported to a dojo-esque setting where she must face stone samurais, a castle ranging with orcs and dragons, and a futuristic train infested by robots.
The similarities in the film do not only reside within the worlds, but the characters as well. In "The Wizard of Oz" Margaret Hamilton plays both Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch of the West, the antagonist in both the real world and Dorothy's dream world. In "Sucker Punch", actor Oscar Isaac portrays both the orderly whose being paid off by Baby's Doll's stepfather in the real world, and Blue Jones, the brothel owner in the fantasy world. Both villains go through a fantastical physical change when switching worlds to mimic and serve the one they are in accordingly.
Not only does this occur with the antagonist, but also the mentor figure, who represents the Oz of the film. Scott Glenn plays a character simply known as "Wise Man". Wise Man appears at many points throughout the film in all the different worlds. In each world his wardrobe is different, at one point he is a sensei type character, and another he is a World War 2 looking fighter. Frank Mogan did the same thing when he played five different characters in "The Wizard of Oz".
While both films tonally and content wise are different the theme still remains the same. Both girls are trapped within their minds and want to escape. They build a world of characters to represent their own worlds and escape their traumas.
Interesting post Reid. I haven't seen Sucker Punch yet, but I find your comparisons and comments intriguing. What do you think about how sexuality is used in Sucker Punch? Do you think it was used for a higher purpose or just to lure certain people into the theater?
ReplyDeleteChristine.